Some words about the work…
(English version follows below)
Det globale barn
I projektets 2. del er sigter på empati med barnet i et bredere geografisk perspektiv. Der tages således udgangspunkt i “instruktioner” fra børn i alderen 0-3 år bosiddende forskellige steder i verden.
Det er vores håb, at ligheder og forskelle i børns måde at interagere med deres omgivelser kan åbne for nye indgange til kulturel forståelse, samt afmystificere ’det fremmede’ ved at skabe forbindelse mellem folk på et konkret, fællesmenneskeligt plan. Vi vil i den forbindelse igen lade os inspirere af barnets åbne, absorberende sind.
Børnene – tre eksempler
Ashna, Indien, 1 år (født 1/10-2006):
Ashna bor i Udaipur og bliver glad, når hun ser lyset fra lamperne ved søen på vej over broen hjem. Hun holder af familiemedlemmer (“så meget, at hun mod sædvane kan lokkes i bad, hvis hun ved, at hun bagefter skal ud med et familiemedlem”). TV-reklamer fanger særligt hendes interesse – hun danser til dem (dvs. bouncer m. armene i vejret), men forlader fjernsynet igen, når programmet efter reklamerne genoptages. Hun kan lide at slå folk – folk, som kender hende – når hun ikke får det hun vil have. Ashna er meget glad for faderens mobiltelefon, som har en bestemt sang, som hun danser til fra filmen “Jhoom Barabar Jhoom”.
Paa Kwesi, Ghana, 1 år (født 17/12-2006)
Paa Kwesi bor i Accra og er meget facineret af mobiltelefoner og aviser. Paa Kwesi er hans kaldenavn, hans rigtige navn er David Nhyira Darko. Hans mor, Mary, er tjenestepige (hun vasker, gør rent og laver mad for den familie, som de bor hos).
Anjal, Indien, 1 år (født den 10/10-2006).
Moderen står i familiens kiosk i Udaipur og Anjal var med hende på arbejde.
I butikken var to kurvestole, som Anjal var optaget af, mens vi var der. Hun pillede med fingrene i fletværket. Desuden fik hun lov at “snakke” i butikkens telefon. Hendes tante svarede, da vi spurgte om Anjals interesser, at hun gerne ville se/lege med alt hvad de voksne havde i hænderne. Endelig pillede hun også flittigt ved sine mange ankelkæder og prøvede også at tage dem af.
The Global Child
In the 2nd part of the project the work with empathy and children is put into a broader geographical perspective. Thus, we take a point of departure in “instructions” from children at the ages 0-3 years old, living in different places in the world.
It is our hope that similarities and differences in the way children interact with their surroundings can open new paths for cultural understanding. We hope that this approach can be a way of demystify the “foreign” by creating connection between people on a concrete, common human level. Again, we shall let ourselves be inspired by the open, absorbing being of the child.
The Children – Three stories
Ashna, Indien, at 1 year old (born the 1/10-2006)
Ashna lives in Udaipur and she gets happy, when she sees the light from the lamps by the lake on the way home over the bridge. She likes her family members (so much that she against all odds can be talked into having a bath, if she afterward is going out with a member of the family). TV commercials very much catches her attention – she dances to the sound of them (that is, she is bouncing with the arms in the air). But she leaves the television again when the program starts again after the commercial break. She is found of hitting people – people, who know her- when she does not get what she wants. Ashna adores her fathers mobile phone, which has a particular song, to which she’ll dance, from the film “Jhoom Barabar Jhoom”.
Paa Kwesi, Ghana, at 1 year old (born the 17/12-2006)
Paa Kwesi lives in Accra and is very fascinated by mobile phones and newspapers. Paa Kwesi is the name he is being called, his real name is David Nhyira Darko. His mother, Mary, is a house keeper (a common work in Ghana. She is cleaning, doing the laundry, and cooking for the family, with whom they live.
Anjal, India, at 1 year old (born the 10/10-2006).
Anjal’s mother is running a kiosk in Udaipur and Anjal was with her at work. In the shop there were two wicker chairs, which Anjal was very occupied with, while we were there. She was fingering at the plaits of straw. She also had the opportunity to talk on the stores telephone. When we asked about Anjal’s speciific interests; her aunt replied that she wanted to see and play with all, that the the adults happened to hold in their hands. Finally she was also busy fingering with her many foot wrist chains, trying to take them off.
